Top Vegetables for WEIGHT LOSS...you can use in daily diet ....

Top  vegetables for WEIGHT LOSS...

1. Carrots

Carrots are top of my list among vegetables for losing weight. I just love the crunch and convenience of carrots. I love them cooked, uncooked and grated in salads. What I like most is that carrots taste great eaten raw whilst they’re economical and keep well in the fridge.

They are wildly healthy. Just think of all that beta-carotene and fibre! And they make a healthy stick to dip into hummus or tzatziki. Dip into just enough to flavour – you don’t need to drown a whole carrot stick. And they don’t get stuck in your teeth.

1 medium carrot, 140g 185 kJ/45 Cals

2. Mushrooms

Mushrooms are tasty and versatile and you can put them in almost anything! Throw them in the frypan with chicken or fish and a sprinkle of mixed herbs, or add them to an omelette with tomato and chives. And nothing jazzes up a BBQ faster than a serve of mushrooms and caramelised onions on that chop.

Since they have little flavour of their own, they meld into whatever you're cooking! The best example I know is to substitute half mince with half chopped mushrooms (an equal weight) and shape them into burgers or meatballs. Or into a Bolognaise meat sauce. No-one will notice this as the flavour gets an umami boost and they add texture to the meat without adding many kilojoules. The Mushroom Growers call this ‘blendability’ and their website gives you heaps of ideas on how to incorporate them.

½ cup button mushrooms 60 kJ/15 Cals

3. Cucumber

Cucumber has a lot of water and flesh, and no fat or carbs. It now comes in many different lengths and shapes.

 There’s one for any occasion. I use the small ‘cukes’ sliced lengthwise and into quarters for dips and munch sticks but like the longer ones for salads, and apple cucumbers on sandwiches. Ditto for raw fennel and radishes.

1 short cucumber, 100g 50 kJ/10 Cals

4. Celery

Like cucumber, celery is pretty much all water and supplies hardly any kilojoules, so it´s great for weight loss. You also get fibre as well. It’s another vegetable that´s great to eat raw with all that crunch and crispness.

1 length 15cm long, 30g 15 kJ/5 Cals

5. Cauliflower

Cauliflower is set to become THE veg of 2017. And it’s easy to see why. It's a low-density food, with no fat, plenty of fibre and a great taste. It’s a brilliant vegetable when you´re trying to lose weight, as it’s so versatile. It can replace a mound of potato mash or a bowl of rice and so slash the carbs and kilojoules.

 You can use cauliflower in everything from pizza bases to cauliflower steaks that you pan-fry.

Half a cauli goes a long way so when it’s in season, why don’t you buy up big? If you’ve always disliked it, try cooking it lightly – just enough to take away its toughness and make it tender to bite. Don’t overcook it.

¼ medium cauliflower, 145g 145 kJ/35 Cals

6. Chilli

Fresh or dried, chilli adds a lot of zing to your meals which makes a diet dinner suddenly come alive. Research says it can boost your metabolism too so your body burns more for a couple of hours afterwards. How much to eat? There’s little guidance in the research but I’d guess enough to warm your mouth nicely for 20 minutes after eating. It won’t hurt and does a lot of good. If you can’t stand chilli, you can do the same with black pepper, horseradish, hot mustard or wasabi – go gently until you’re used to these oral irritants.

1 red pod, 20g 30 kJ/7 Cals

7. Green leaves (butter, iceberg, salad greens)

OK. I admit it. I am into a big salad each and every day so this one is not hard for me. My fave side is a tossed green salad with lots of different leaves. 

Some I’ve been trying to grow fresh in my garden (not always with great success) and some I buy when out shopping. I can whip up a bowl quickly and I always have a drizzle of dressing over it. It rounds out any meal from steak to pizza and means you can still counter the side effects of ‘too much’. A green salad contains no fat at all and plenty of phyto-nutrients.

1 cup leaves, 35g 10 kJ/2 Cals